iris.

prologue.

prologue.

"i'm asher!" he yelled far too close to my ear, causing me to flinch back. he seemed to barely notice, but after watching me move, he apologized. he was too drunk to figure out his level of volume, it seemed.

but i was pretty drunk too, so it wasn't much of a problem anyway. i took another gulp of beer and moved back to him.

        "iris." he nodded, his pink lips lifting to grin at me. he was absolutely endearing- different than most guys i hooked up with. instead of dark and devilish, he was an angel of light blonde hair and baby blue eyes. practically a puppy, i thought- yet when he moved to speak again his lip grazed the tip of my ear, and i got chills.

"do ya want to get out of here?" i waited a moment, as if i was really mulling it over, and then nodded. he grinned and then pulled me towards the exit- but gently, even though he was positively smashed.

maybe that was what made me more inclined to him- he was soft, both in his heart and in his movements. the other guys were rough drunks, vengeful drunks, drunks that sobered up and didn't get much better.

and now here i was, being lead to the back door, to the alley, and his grip was on my waist for the first time that night. 

he pushed open the door and a blast of chilled air hit me. goosebumps raised up on my arms and i shivered on unconsciously. i was wearing a tight black number- but no jacket and no sleeves, though it wasn't exactly spring yet. 

we were halfway down the street when he turned sharply and kissed me unexpectedly. he was good, i gave him that, and knew what i liked, somehow. in a minute we had backed into the alley wall, still pressed together.

for awhile i was able to ignore the new layer of freezing that the icy wall was giving me, but once we broke apart for air, i was shivering. it got bad enough that my teeth were chattering, and the noise caught asher's attention.

        "ah, shit- you don't have a jacket, or anything?" i shook my head, laughing, giddy. kissing always gave me the feeling, like i was floating. i was so dazed, i didn't see his movements, until i felt something draped across my shoulders.

"i know it's not much, but it's what i have for now." he stood in front of me in a tank top. his jacket was almost as long as my dress, and covered my shoulders and then some. within a minute i had stopped shivering, for the most part.

and it was all very strange. he was drunk, and clearly into me- but he was sweet too, and was looking at me like he needed confirmation, that i was okay, or better, or something.

        "my place is warmer than this alley- just so you know." his face was half smug, half nervous- like i would refuse him. i thought, really thought this time- because he was different. i knew how to handle mysterious and quiet, but he was open and warm and loud.

but then he looked at me, his enchanting blue eyes wide, and i nodded, forgetting about everything that could go wrong.

"lead the way."

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book four of the summer series. {books do not have to be read in order.}